The peaceful Japanese population was systematically destroyed by the Americans. Constantly came news about the disappearance from the face of the earth of this or that city (together with the inhabitants). It has become commonplace. Strategic bombers just flew in and poured out several hundred tons of death. Japanese air defense could not fight it.
However, American General Curtis Lemay believed that things were not going too well - not enough Japanese were dying. The previous bombings of Tokyo, in 1943, 1944, 1945 did not bring the desired effect. Dropping land mines from a great height only makes a lot of noise. Lemay began to come up with various new technologies for more effective extermination of the population.
And he came up with. The planes were supposed to fly in three lines and carefully drop incendiary bombs every 15 meters. The calculation was simple: the city was densely built up with old wooden buildings. With an increase in the distance to at least 30 meters, tactics became ineffective. It was also necessary to observe the temporary regime, at night people usually sleep in their homes. Air pressure and wind direction also had to be taken into account.
All this, according to calculations, should cause a fiery tornado and burn a sufficient number of citizens.
Napalm is a mixture of naphthenic and palmitic acid that is added to gasoline as a thickener. This gives the effect of slow ignition, but long burning. Burning emits acrid black smoke, causing asphyxiation. Napalm is almost impossible to extinguish with water. This viscous liquid, almost jelly, is filled into sealed containers with fuses and dropped onto the target. Houses in the city were packed tightly, napalm burned hot. That is why the fiery channels left by bomb flows quickly merged into a single sea of fire. Air turbulence spurred on the elements, creating a huge fiery tornado.
During Operation Prayer House, one night (March 10, 1945) in Tokyo burned alive: according to American post-war data - about 100,000 people, according to Japanese - at least 300,000 (mostly old people, women and children) . Another one and a half million were left without a roof over their heads. Those who were lucky said that the water in Sumida boiled, and the steel bridge thrown over it melted, dropping drops of metal into the water.
In total, then 41 square kilometers of the city area, which was inhabited by about 10 million people, burned out, 40% of the entire housing stock (330 thousand houses) was destroyed.
The Americans also suffered losses - 14 B-29 strategists (out of 334 participating in the operation) did not return to the base. Just the fiery napalm hell created such turbulence that the pilots flying in the last wave of bombers lost control. These tragic shortcomings were subsequently eliminated, tactics were improved. Several dozen Japanese cities were subjected to this method of destruction from March 1945 until the end of the war.
General Curtis LeMay later stated: "I think if we had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal."
but the amers are sincerely sure that, apart from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no cities were affected at all. One of them proved it to me with foam at the mouth. He suggested that he familiarize himself with at least the data of the English-language Wiki, where it is written in black and white "The strategic bombing campaign of Japan was carried out by the US Air Force from 1942 to 1945. During the last 7 months of the campaign, the emphasis was on firebombing, which led to significant destruction of 67 Japanese cities, led to the death of about 500,000 Japanese and made about 5 million people homeless."
At Amer, after this quote, the template apparently burst and the fart exploded, tk. He did not send anything but a mat in response.
And there were also bombings of Cologne, Dresden, Leipzig, Chemnitz ...
as someone correctly noted - terror in Anglo-Saxon
14 bombers were lost.
On March 10, 1945, the ominous Jewish holiday of Purim was celebrated.
After the ineffective bombing of Japan in 1944, American General Curtis LeMay decided to adopt a new tactic, which was to carry out massive night bombings of Japanese cities with napalm incendiary bombs from low altitudes. The use of this tactic began in March 1945 and continued until the end of the war. 66 Japanese cities fell victim to this method of attack and were badly damaged.
Tokyo was bombed for the first time on February 23, 1945 - 174 B-29 bombers destroyed about 2.56 square kilometers of the city.
B-29 Superfortress bomber ("superfortress")
And already on the night of March 9-10, 334 bombers set off a fiery tornado in two hours of attacks, similar to the tornado during the bombing of Dresden.
On the night of March 10, 334 B-29 strategic bombers took off from airfields in the Mariana Islands and headed for the capital of Japan. Their goal was to exterminate the civilian population, since they carried only incendiary bombs with napalm on board.
Aerial photograph of the ruins of Tokyo after the bombing on March 9, 1945
Napalm is a mixture of naphthenic and palmitic acid that is added to gasoline as a thickener. This gives the effect of slow ignition, but long burning. Burning emits acrid black smoke, causing asphyxiation. Napalm is almost impossible to extinguish with water. This viscous liquid, almost jelly, is filled into sealed containers with fuses and dropped onto the target.
Ashes, debris and burnt bodies of residents on the streets of Tokyo. March 10, 1945
On this day, protective weapons and armor were removed from the B-29 in order to increase the carrying capacity. The previous bombings of Tokyo, in 1943, 1944, 1945 did not bring the desired effect. Dropping land mines from a great height only makes a lot of noise. Finally, General Curtis LeMay came up with a burnout tactic. The planes flew in three lines and carefully dropped incendiary bombs every 15 meters. The calculation was simple - the city is densely built up with old wooden buildings. With an increase in the distance to at least 30 meters, tactics became ineffective. It was also necessary to observe the temporary regime, at night people usually sleep in their homes.
Mother and child burnt to death by US firebombs in Tokyo
As a result, a real fiery hell reigned in Tokyo. The city was on fire, and clouds of smoke covered all residential areas, so it was impossible to escape. The huge area of the city ruled out the possibility of misses. The carpet of "lighters" was spread out exactly, despite the night hours. The Sumida River that flowed through the city was silvery in the moonlight, and visibility was excellent. The Americans were flying low, only two kilometers above the ground, and the pilots could distinguish every house. If the Japanese had gasoline for fighters or shells for anti-aircraft guns, they would have to pay for such impudence. But the defenders of the Tokyo sky had neither one nor the other, the city was defenseless.
After the bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945, the streets of the city were littered with charred corpses.
Houses in the city were packed tightly, napalm burned hot. That is why the fiery channels left by bomb flows quickly merged into a single sea of fire. Air turbulence spurred on the elements, creating a huge fiery tornado.
The bombed-out streets of Tokyo. March 10, 1945.
By noon, when the smoke cleared, the Americans photographed from the air a terrifying picture of how the city was almost burned to the ground. Destroyed 330 thousand houses on an area of 40 square meters. km. In total, then 41 square kilometers of the city area, which was inhabited by about 10 million people, burned out, 40% of the entire housing stock (330 thousand houses) was destroyed.
Those who were lucky said that the water in Sumida boiled, and the steel bridge thrown over it melted, dropping drops of metal into the water. The Americans, embarrassed, estimate the loss of that night at 100,000 people. Japanese sources, without showing exact figures, believe that the value of 300,000 burnt will be closer to the truth. Another one and a half million were left without a roof over their heads. American losses did not exceed 4% of the vehicles involved in the raid. Moreover, their main reason was the inability of the pilots of the terminal machines to cope with the air currents that arose over the dying city.
Japanese police officers identify victims of the American bombing, Tokyo, Japan, March 10, 1945. Photographer Kouyou Ishikawa
General Curtis LeMay later stated, "I think if we had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal."
Residents of Tokyo, who lost their homes as a result of American bombing of the city. March 10, 1945.
*Recently, victims of the Soviet bombardment of the city on March 9, 1944 were commemorated in Tallinn - funeral services were held, memorial prayers were read, memorial candles were lit, requiem concerts were held, bells rang in the churches of Tallinn.
On this day, March 9, 1944 at 19:15, the first bombing hit the city and its civilians. The bombing of 9 March was not the only one. On March 6, 1944, Narva was almost completely bombed, after which, three days later and on the night of March 10, an even larger bombardment hit the Estonian capital. According to historical data, at 19:15 and at 03:06, Soviet aircraft dropped 1,725 explosive and 1,300 incendiary bombs on Tallinn.
As a result of the air raid, 554 people were killed, including 50 German soldiers and 121 prisoners of war, and 650 people were injured.
During the bombing, the Old Town was badly damaged, mainly in the vicinity of Harju Street. The building of the theater "Estonia" burned down. The Niguliste Church and the City Archives of Tallinn were damaged by fire. In general, 3350 buildings were damaged by air raids, 1549 buildings were destroyed. According to historical information, about 20,000 citizens were left homeless.
TOKYO, March 10 - RIA Novosti, Ksenia Naka. Japan marks the 70th anniversary of the Great Bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945 by the US Air Force, which destroyed most of the city and claimed the lives of an estimated 84,000 to 100,000 of its inhabitants.
Massive air raids on Tokyo began in November 1944, but only after the capture of Guam and Saipan and the deployment of US bases on them, bombers began to take more bombs, reducing the amount of fuel. Raids like the March one continued until the end of the war, but on March 10, 1945, the most crushing blow was dealt to the Japanese capital. Until now, this bombardment is considered the deadliest of all conventional weapons.
Bomb attacks were carried out from a low altitude of 1600 to 2200 meters, incendiary shells were dropped every 15 meters. 325 B-29 aircraft took part in the bombing. 381 thousand shells with a total weight of 1800 tons were dropped on the city. The bombardment began at 00:07 on March 10 and ended two hours later.
As a result, 84 thousand people died, but this figure is considered incorrect, since it does not take into account the missing. The most common figure in Japan is 100,000 people. The bodies of the dead were so burnt that it was often impossible not only to identify them, but even to establish the gender. 40 thousand people were injured. About 1 million people were left homeless - 270 thousand residential buildings were completely burned down. In total, as a result of the bombing, an area of 41 square kilometers burned out - a third of Tokyo at that time.
During the bombing, the US military took into account the fact that the city mainly consisted of wooden houses, so the high accuracy of the falling shells led to the fact that Tokyo was enveloped in a fiery tornado in a short time. According to eyewitnesses, waves of hot air burst into rare reinforced concrete buildings, where the surviving residents sought shelter, and literally burned them out from the inside. Most of the victims are burned alive and suffocated by carbon monoxide. Most of the dead were civilians: due to the fact that the factories in Tokyo were small - 20-30 people each - and located in residential areas, massive bombardments were carried out indiscriminately on all objects. The city was literally bombarded with incendiary bombs. This explains the modern look of Tokyo now: buildings that survived the war are rare in it.
Now, even among American scientists, there are few who believe that the bombing of civilians was justified and made sense from a military point of view. General Curtis LeMay, who commanded the operation, admitted that if the US had lost the war, he would have been recognized as a war criminal.
Previous air raidsThe first air raid (the so-called "Doolittle Raid"; Doolittle Raid) on Japan took place on April 18, 1942, when 16 B-25 Mitchell aircraft, which had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, attacked Yokohama and Tokyo. After the attack, the planes were supposed to land at airfields in China, but none of them flew to the landing site. All of them crashed or sank (with the exception of one that landed on the territory of the USSR and whose crew was interned). The crews of two vehicles were taken prisoner by Japanese troops.
For the bombing of Japan, mainly B-29 aircraft with a range of about 6,000 km (3,250 miles) were used, aircraft of this type dropped 90% of all bombs on Japan.
On June 15, 1944, as part of Operation Matterhorn, 68 B-29 bombers flew from the Chinese city of Chengdu, which had to fly 2,400 km. Of these, only 47 aircraft reached the target. On November 24, 1944, 88 aircraft bombed Tokyo. The bombs were dropped from 10 km (24,000 ft) and only a tenth of them hit their intended targets.
Air raids from China were ineffective due to the fact that the aircraft had to cover a long distance. To fly to Japan, additional fuel tanks were installed in the bomb bays, while reducing the load of bombs. However, after the capture of the Mariana Islands and the transfer of air bases to Guam, Saipan and Tinian, aircraft could fly with an increased supply of bombs.
Weather conditions made it difficult to carry out daytime targeted bombing, due to the presence of a high-altitude jet stream over Japan, the dropped bombs deviated from the trajectory. In addition, unlike Germany with its large industrial complexes, two-thirds of Japanese industrial enterprises were located in small buildings, with fewer than 30 workers.
General Curtis Lemay decided to use a new tactic, which consisted of conducting massive night bombings of Japanese cities and suburbs with incendiary bombs from low altitude (1.5-2 km). An air campaign based on such tactics began in March 1945 and continued until the end of the war. Its targets were 66 Japanese cities, which were heavily damaged.
In Japan, this tactic was first used on February 3, 1945, when aircraft dropped incendiary bombs on Kobe, with success. Japanese cities were extremely vulnerable to such attacks: a large number of wooden houses without fire breaks in the building contributed to the rapid spread of fires. The bombers were stripped of their protective armament and some of their armor to increase their payload, which increased from 2.6 tons in March to 7.3 tons in August. The planes flew in three lines and dropped napalm and incendiary bombs every 15 meters. With an increase in the distance to 30 meters, tactics became ineffective.
On February 23, 1945, this method was used during the bombing of Tokyo. 174 B-29 bombers destroyed about 2.56 sq. km. city squares.
Plaque
To build on the success, 334 bombers took off from the Mariana Islands on the night of March 9-10. After a two-hour bombardment, a fiery tornado formed in the city, similar to the one that was during the bombing of Dresden. 41 sq. km were destroyed in the fire. area of the city, 330 thousand houses burned down, 40% of the total housing stock was destroyed. The temperature was so high that people's clothes caught fire. As a result of the fires, at least 80 thousand people died, most likely more than 100 thousand people. American aviation lost 14 bombers, another 42 aircraft were damaged.
Subsequent bombings
On May 26, the third raid took place. American aviation suffered record losses - 26 bombers.
Grade
The need for the bombing of Tokyo is ambiguous and controversial in the circles of historians. General Curtis LeMay later stated, "I think if we had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal." However, he believes that the bombing saved many lives by pushing Japan to surrender. He also believes that if the bombing continued, a ground invasion would no longer be required, since Japan would have suffered enormous damage by then. Historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, in Racing the Enemy (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2005), argued that the main reason for the surrender was not atomic strikes or incendiary bombardments of Japanese cities, but the attack of the USSR, which terminated the neutrality pact between the USSR and Japan and the fear of a Soviet invasion . This statement is usual for Soviet textbooks, but original for Western historiography and has been subjected to devastating criticism. For example, the Japanese historian Sadao Asada (from the University of Kyoto) published a study based, among other things, on the testimony of figures who were part of the circle that made the decision to surrender. When deciding on surrender, it was nuclear bombing that was discussed. Sakomishu Hisatsune, General Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers, later testified: “I am sure the war would have ended the same way if the Russians had not declared war on us at all.” The entry of the USSR into the war only deprived Japan of hope for mediation, but did not threaten to invade, - the USSR simply did not have the technical means for this.
The Soviet-Japanese War was of great political and military importance. So on August 9, at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki said:
The Soviet Army defeated the strong Kwantung Army of Japan. The Soviet Union, having entered the war with the Empire of Japan and made a significant contribution to its defeat, hastened the end of World War II. American leaders and historians have repeatedly stated that without the entry of the USSR into the war, it would have continued for at least another year and would have cost an additional several million human lives.
During the Crimean Conference, Roosevelt, in a conversation with Stalin, noted the undesirability of the landing of American troops on the Japanese islands, which would be done only in case of emergency: “The Japanese have an army of 4 million on the islands, and the landing will be fraught with heavy losses. However, if Japan is subjected to a heavy bombardment, then it can be hoped that everything will be destroyed, and in this way it will be possible to save many lives without landing on the islands.
Memory
Tokyo has a memorial complex dedicated to the bombing, a museum, as well as several monuments. Photo exhibitions are held annually in the exhibition halls. In 2005, a ceremony was held in memory of the dead, attended by two thousand people who witnessed the bombing, and Prince Akishino, the grandson of Emperor Hirohito.
Interestingly, this topic is not covered at all. Apparently, due to its "non-mass character" compared to the previous burning of Dresden.
REAL HOLOCAUST
The bombing of Tokyo - the bombing of the Japanese capital, carried out by the US Air Force on the night of March 9-10, 1945. The air raid involved 334 B-29 strategic bombers, each of which dropped several tons of firebombs and napalm. As a result of the resulting fiery tornado, fires quickly spread in residential areas built up with wooden buildings. More than 100 thousand people died, mainly the elderly, women and children.
14 bombers were lost.
After the ineffective bombing of Japan in 1944, American General Curtis LeMay decided to adopt a new tactic, which was to carry out massive night bombings of Japanese cities with napalm incendiary bombs from low altitudes. The use of this tactic began in March 1945 and continued until the end of the war. 66 Japanese cities fell victim to this method of attack and were badly damaged.
For the first time, Tokyo was bombed on February 23, 1945 - 174 B-29 bombers destroyed about 2.56 square kilometers of the city.
Bomber B-29 Superfortress ("superfortress").
And already on the night of March 9-10, 334 bombers set off a fiery tornado in two hours of attacks, similar to the tornado during the bombing of Dresden.
On the night of March 10, 334 B-29 strategic bombers took off from airfields in the Mariana Islands and headed for the capital of Japan. Their goal was to exterminate the civilian population, since they carried only incendiary bombs with napalm on board.
Napalm is a mixture of naphthenic and palmitic acid that is added to gasoline as a thickener. This gives the effect of slow ignition, but long burning. Burning emits acrid black smoke, causing asphyxiation. Napalm is almost impossible to extinguish with water. This viscous liquid, almost jelly, is filled into sealed containers with fuses and dropped onto the target.
On this day, protective weapons and armor were removed from the B-29 in order to increase the carrying capacity. The previous bombings of Tokyo, in 1943, 1944, 1945 did not bring the desired effect. Dropping land mines from a great height only makes a lot of noise. Finally, General Curtis LeMay came up with a burnout tactic. The planes flew in three lines and carefully dropped incendiary bombs every 15 meters. The calculation was simple - the city is densely built up with old wooden buildings. With an increase in the distance to at least 30 meters, tactics became ineffective. It was also necessary to observe the temporary regime, at night people usually sleep in their homes.
Mother and child burnt to death by US firebombs in Tokyo
As a result, a real fiery hell reigned in Tokyo. The city was on fire, and clouds of smoke covered all residential areas, so it was impossible to escape. The huge area of the city ruled out the possibility of misses. The carpet of "lighters" was spread out exactly, despite the night hours. The Sumida River that flowed through the city was silvery in the moonlight, and visibility was excellent. The Americans were flying low, only two kilometers above the ground, and the pilots could distinguish every house. If the Japanese had gasoline for fighters or shells for anti-aircraft guns, they would have to pay for such impudence. But the defenders of the Tokyo sky had neither one nor the other, the city was defenseless.
After the bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945, the streets of the city were littered with charred corpses.
Houses in the city were packed tightly, napalm burned hot. That is why the fiery channels left by bomb flows quickly merged into a single sea of fire. Air turbulence spurred on the elements, creating a huge fiery tornado.
By noon, when the smoke cleared, the Americans photographed from the air a terrifying picture of how the city was almost burned to the ground. Destroyed 330 thousand houses on an area of 40 square meters. km. In total, then 41 square kilometers of the city area, which was inhabited by about 10 million people, burned out, 40% of the entire housing stock (330 thousand houses) was destroyed.
Those who were lucky said that the water in Sumida boiled, and the steel bridge thrown over it melted, dropping drops of metal into the water. The Americans, embarrassed, estimate the loss of that night at 100,000 people. Japanese sources, without showing exact figures, believe that the value of 300,000 burnt will be closer to the truth. Another one and a half million were left without a roof over their heads. American losses did not exceed 4% of the vehicles involved in the raid. Moreover, their main reason was the inability of the pilots of the terminal machines to cope with the air currents that arose over the dying city.
Japanesepolicemencarry out victim identificationAmerican bombing, Tokyo,
Japan,
March 10, 1945PhotographerKouyouIshikawa
General Curtis LeMay later stated, "I think if we had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal."
Residents of Tokyo, who lost their homes as a result of American bombing of the city. March 10, 1945.
Yesterday, victims of the Soviet bombardment of the city on March 9, 1944 were commemorated in Tallinn - funeral services were held, memorial prayers were read, memorial candles were lit, requiem concerts were held, bells rang in the churches of Tallinn.
On this day, March 9, 1944 at 19:15, the first bombing hit the city and its civilians. The bombing of 9 March was not the only one. On March 6, 1944, Narva was almost completely bombed, after which, three days later and on the night of March 10, an even larger bombardment hit the Estonian capital. According to historical data, at 19:15 and at 03:06, Soviet aircraft dropped 1,725 explosive and 1,300 incendiary bombs on Tallinn.
As a result of the air raid, 554 people were killed, including 50 German soldiers and 121 prisoners of war, and 650 people were injured.
During the bombing, the Old Town was badly damaged, mainly in the vicinity of Harju Street. The building of the theater "Estonia" burned down. The Niguliste Church and the City Archives of Tallinn were damaged by fire. In general, 3350 buildings were damaged by air raids, 1549 buildings were destroyed. According to historical information, about 20,000 citizens were left homeless.
